Prentiss Autry Mythology Project Part 2
' 1. Met 4 782-83' '' Pg. 306, ''Early Greek Myth Ovid, Metamorphosis '' Latin: http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi006.perseus-lat1:4.706 English: http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi006.perseus-eng1:4.706 These lines refer to the bronze shield Perseus uses in his altercation with the Gorgon Medusa. '''2. ' ' 2. NY 17.190.73' Pg. 312, Early Greek Myth Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/249186 The piece shown in the image to the left is a small Greek decorative plaque. This ivory and bone work can be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It is an Archaic piece that was created in the second half of the 7th century B.C. The work depicts a mythological scene in which the daughters of King Proitos were driven mad for dishonoring a Greek deity. ' '''This small piece depicts King Proitos’ daughters in different states of dress. In their madness, they have unpinned their gowns. The woman on the left is exposed from the waist up, and the woman on the right has let her gown fall to her knees. The work has undergone a visible amount of damage over the years. Both of the women’s bodies have small holes in them. The woman on the left appears to be missing her head and right arm, and the woman on the right has lost her left arm. Great attention to detail is evident in the figure on the right. Her gown displays an intricate, geometric pattern, and her curly hair has been well defined. She clutches a piece of her fallen gown and places a hand across her chest, possibly in modesty. Her sister to the left is less detailed, but she appears to be attempting to retie her belt to prevent the rest of her dress from falling away. The girls appear to have just realized their actions and are attempting to recover themselves. One of the main sources of this myth is Hesiod's fragments. In that version, the women are punished for failing to recognize Dionysus. They were made to act out in an improper manner. Hesiod goes on to mention the girls losing their hair and becoming ugly. In Pherekydes' account, the girls claimed their father's house was a grand as Hera's temple and were afflicted with madness for ten years. Bakchylides claims that they said ther father's wealth was greater than Hera's and were caused to run through the wilderness for 13 months. Vergil's ''Ecologues contains descriptions of the girls thinking that they are in fact cattle. Aelianus gives the only source that actually states the girls undressed themselves. As the different versions of the myth vary, the accuracy in the scene portrayed varies. All of the sources give mention of some sort of affliction of madness. This certainly aligns with the visual representation of the women removing their dresses. Hesiod’s description of the women losing their beauty is not apparent in the art work as the daughter that retains her head still sports a full head of hair. Bakchylides’ version of the myth is not well represented because the daughters are shown as standing still rather than in motion. The plaque seems to be showing the moment the women have been brought back to sanity and are ashamed of their actions. The length of madness as mentioned by Bakchylides and Pherekydes are not in line with the immediate intimacy of the moment depicted in the figure. While the work does capture this aspect of the myth that is not necessarily covered in the sources, it does not accurately depict any of the specific versions of the myth. Suggested Bibliography: Gantz, Timothy. "Chapter 10 Perseus and Bellerophontes." Early Greek Myth. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ., 1996. 229-316. Print. 7th Century. Ivory. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. ' 3. Taranto I/96' Pg. 316, Early Greek Myth Museo Archeologico, Taranto, Italy This image is currently pending approval of usage. An email requesting permission to use the image was sent on 4-15. No response has been received.